Brett Dodson, DSO at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, passed away Thursday, February 1, 2018, after a two year battle with cancer. Brett was an active member of both AAUS and ADPA and an innovator in the aquarium dive industry.

Nominations are now open! Presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution in diving safety and diving leadership on behalf of the scientific diving community. Nominations close March 31st.

The video of the 2017 DSO meeting in Alpena, Michigan is now available. Members can access the 6-part video for viewing/downloading. Please contact the AAUS office for access.

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AAUS Social Media

In addition to our current Facebook page, AAUS now has an Instagram account: AAUS.Scientific.Diving. Follow us! Any other images, videos, stories, or other things you would like shared, please send them to: AAUSsocialmedia@gmail.com.

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Current E-Slate

Curent ESlate is available on the first of every month. You can access older editions in the resource library under "publications".

The Northeast Diving Officers will convene for an informal meeting at the Boston Sea Rovers show, Saturday March 10, 2018, 1-4pm. Stay tuned for meeting room location and other details. See the Sea Rovers website for details about this weekend (https://www.bostonsearovers.com). Contact UMaine DSO Chris Rigaud for questions or to submit agenda topics (crigaud@maine.edu).

The University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories is offering a Marine Subtidal Ecology course June 11- July 13, 2018. This course focuses on learning key ecological concepts, skills, and tools applied to the subtidal marine environment. Of primary importance, students will be trained as AAUS scientific divers. Students will conduct group and independent research projects addressing a tractable question in temperate subtidal ecology; the skills and principles of ecology will, however, be broadly applicable to underwater science. Doing scientific research underwater means working underwater; throughout the course we will help students develop the skills and confidence to safely do this kind of work in their study system. The training will include visits (and input!) from scientific diving instructors from around the NW, evening discussions of accident case studies, and extensive pool and in-water skills and rescue drills. More information is available at https://fhl.uw.edu/courses/course-descriptions/course/subtidal-marine-ecology/or email pema@uw.edu.

Please be reminded that all proposals to host the 2019 AAUS Diving for Science Symposium must be submitted to the AAUS office no later than December 30, 2017. Please contact the office for information on what should be included with the proposal. If you submitted a proposal in 2017 and would like to resubmit, please contact the AAUS office.

Join Rob Robbins (2016 AAUS Conrad Limbaugh Awardee) in four virtual-reality films that take you on, above and below the Antarctic ice. This film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, was featured in the New York Times and will show at Cannes later in the month. This amazing VR experience is just like being there only not as cold!

The AAUS awards The Kevin Gurr Scholarship and The Kathy Johnston Scholarship to graduate students engaged in, or planning to begin, a research project in which diving is or will be used as a principal research tool or studying diving science.